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Hi Jalynne,

I love your question because it is one that I ponder each time I start a new unit.  How can I make this topic 'down-to-earth' and relevant to my students' everyday lives so that they are learning science in a way that can be transferred what is happening outside the 4 walls of my classroom?

So one of the things I do, is that I make a list of ways I already know the content can be connected to my students' everyday lives.  Then I go to the 'Phenomena for NGSS' website ( https://www.ngssphenomena.com/ ) to hunt for photos and video clips that might mirror the experiences I want to highlight.  If you haven't had a chance to check that resource out yet, please do.  You can search for phenomena by topic or DCI (disciplinary core idea).

The best way to ensure we are making appropriate connections is to utilize a site like this that already has vetted connected phenomena available to us to use. 

Let me know if this was helpful.  If not I will look for some other resources.  

Best,

Carolyn Mohr

Senior Online Advisor and Adjunct Science Methods Professor

Hey Jalynne! 

Thank you for posting this question. I feel that it is super important that we don't lose sight of the importance of science in our world. You are so right. It is super easy to just say everything is science instead of really understanding what is science and why. As a future teacher I don't want to get wrapped up in the unit and forget to teach how to those basic life science skills to my students .

Hi Jalynee,

The first thing that comes to mind when it comes to the application of science is something my high school teacher did for my class. She asked us many scenios of our life. If this were to happen, what would you do? Do you have a daily routine? Do you like to cook/ bake? While the students may not think about it at first, but each of those questions pertain to science. We are looking at cause/effect, procedures, mixtures; stuff like that. While we can discuss these concepts, we can show the students that we participate in science in our every day life without thinking about. It might take some pointing out at first, but if you show the students that everything they do is with the help of science, they will start seeing it too.

As a young student, I never connected with science. I thought it was interesting and experiments were fun, but it never clicked with me. I think that if I would have realized how much science is in our daily lives, I may have connected with it more. Now I am not saying that my teachers did not try to help us make connections to our daily lives, but I never had a, 'Wow, science is so cool!', moment in my young educational career. When I get to the classroom, I plan on showing my students the things I am learning now about science. I want them to know that it can be fun and engaging.

Hello Jalynne!

I love this question because I feel it is hard to teach students to view the world as scientists themselves. One method you may want to consider is an inquiry-based approach. Have the students come up with a list of 'real-world science' questions at the beginning of the year and try to tie as many of them as you can into your future units. Revisit this prompt from time-to-time once students have had some experience with 'real-world' science and see what other questions they can come up with! I feel that students make much more meaningful connections to subjects and questions they are actually interested in. As a preservice teacher, I hope to use a lot of inquiry based teaching in my classroom. One you introduce the idea of questioning the world, students will begin to do it naturally themselves.

Good Luck,

Bethany O'Clair